Description of Business and Basis of Presentation

6 Months Ended

Aug. 01, 2020

Description of Business and Basis of Presentation [Abstract]

Description of Business and Basis of Presentation

NOTE 1 | DESCRIPTION OF BUSINESS AND BASIS OF PRESENTATION

Business Description

Express, Inc., together with its subsidiaries (“Express” or the “Company”), is a modern, versatile, dual gender apparel and accessories brand that helps people get dressed for every day and any occasion. Launched in 1980 with the idea that style, quality and value should all be found in one place, Express has been a brand of the now, offering some of the most important and enduring fashion trends. Express aims to Create Confidence & Inspire Self-Expression through a design & merchandising view that brings forward The Best of Now for Real Life Versatility. The Company operates 593 retail and factory outlet stores in the United States and Puerto Rico, as well as an online destination.

As of August 1, 2020, Express operated 378 primarily mall-based retail stores in the United States and Puerto Rico as well as 215 factory outlet stores. Additionally, as of August 1, 2020, the Company earned revenue from 7 franchise stores in Latin America. These franchise stores are operated by franchisees pursuant to franchise agreements. Under the franchise agreements, the franchisees operate stand-alone Express stores that sell Express-branded apparel and accessories purchased directly from the Company.

Fiscal Year

The Company’s fiscal year ends on the Saturday closest to January 31. Fiscal years are referred to by the calendar year in which the fiscal year commences. References herein to “2020” and “2019” represent the 52-week period ended January 30, 2021 and the 52-week period ended February 1, 2020, respectively. All references herein to “the second quarter of 2020” and “the second quarter of 2019” represent the thirteen weeks ended August 1, 2020 and August 3, 2019, respectively.

Basis of Presentation

The accompanying unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements have been prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America (“GAAP”) for interim financial information and with the instructions to Form 10-Q and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s Article 10, Regulation S-X and therefore do not include all of the information or footnotes required for complete financial statements. In the opinion of management, the accompanying unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements reflect all adjustments (which are of a normal recurring nature) necessary to state fairly the financial position, results of operations, and cash flows for the interim periods, but are not necessarily indicative of the results of operations to be anticipated for 2020. Therefore, these statements should be read in conjunction with the Consolidated Financial Statements and Notes thereto for the year ended February 1, 2020, included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K, filed with the SEC on March 17, 2020.

Principles of Consolidation

The unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements include the accounts of Express, Inc. and its wholly-owned subsidiaries. All intercompany transactions and balances have been eliminated in consolidation.

Segment Reporting 

The Company defines an operating segment on the same basis that it uses to evaluate performance internally. The Company has determined that, together, its Chief Executive Officer and its President and Chief Operating Officer are the Chief Operating Decision Maker, and that there is one operating segment. Therefore, the Company reports results as a single segment, which includes the operation of its Express brick-and-mortar retail and outlet stores, eCommerce operations, and franchise operations.

Use of Estimates in the Preparation of Financial Statements

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities at the date of the unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements and the reported amounts of revenue and expense during the reporting period, as well as the related disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities as of the date of the unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements. Actual results may differ from those estimates. The Company revises its estimates and assumptions as new information becomes available.

Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic

In March 2020, the World Health Organization declared the outbreak of the novel strain of coronavirus ("COVID-19") a global pandemic and recommended containment and mitigation measures. Since then, extraordinary actions have been taken by international, federal, state, and local public health and governmental authorities to contain and combat the outbreak and spread of COVID-19. The pandemic has significantly impacted global economies, resulting in workforce and travel restrictions, supply chain and production disruptions and reduced demand and spending across many industries.

During March 2020, in response to the COVID-19 outbreak and business disruption resulting from quarantines, stay-at-home orders, and similar mandates, Express temporarily closed all its Company stores and offices, and as a result, all store associates and a number of home office employees were furloughed. For the remainder of the home office employees, remote work arrangements were put in place and were designed to allow for continued operation of the business, including financial reporting systems and internal controls. Express continued to be materially impacted by COVID-19 in the second quarter, as over 30% of Express stores were closed for more than half of the second quarter, and some stores in California and New York remained closed as of August 26, 2020. These continued closures and the potential that additional stores could be closed for a significant amount of time in the future could lead results and cash flows to be significantly different than the Company's forecasts.

The Company's website, www.express.com, remained open, supported by third-party logistics providers, and Company employees working remotely.

The Company has considered the impact of COVID-19 on our unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements and expects it to have future impacts, the extent of which is uncertain and largely subject to whether the severity of the pandemic worsens and/or its duration lengthens. These impacts could include but may not be limited to risks and uncertainty in the near to medium term related to federal, state, and local store closure requirements, customer demand, worker availability, the Company's ability to procure inventory, distribution facility closures, shifts in demand between sales channels, and market volatility in supply chain and store rents. Consequently, this may subject the Company to future risk of long-lived asset and lease right of use asset impairments, increased reserves for uncollectible accounts, and adjustments for inventory, including the lower of cost or net realizable value adjustment. The Company writes down inventory, the impact of which is reflected in cost of goods sold, buying and occupancy costs in the unaudited Consolidated Statements of Income and Comprehensive Income, if the cost of specific inventory items on hand exceeds the amount the Company expects to realize from the ultimate sale or disposal of the inventory. These estimates are based on management's judgment regarding future demand and market conditions and analysis of historical experience. The lower of cost or net realizable value adjustment to inventory as of August 1, 2020 and February 1, 2020 was $20.2 million and $10.4 million, respectively.